The State and the Monopolization of Violence: Castles in Europe, 1000–1700
Published online on July 07, 2026
Abstract
Comparative Political Studies, Ahead of Print.
The defining characteristic of the modern state is its monopoly on violence. Yet, despite broad scholarly agreement on the definition, there are no empirical measures of the monopolization of violence. We introduce the first such measure: the share of ...
The defining characteristic of the modern state is its monopoly on violence. Yet, despite broad scholarly agreement on the definition, there are no empirical measures of the monopolization of violence. We introduce the first such measure: the share of ...